… The planet wonât be saved by slow food, but at the same time our commitment to slow food represents values we want to spread in the world. The one idea I would like people to take away from the book is that itâs important to put forward the values of the slow-food movement because it represents what we believe in â continuity, family, the planet. Itâs a simple idea to have, but itâs a hard idea to articulate.”
Can you give an example of how eating together has been a civilizing influence in history?
“Let me be religious for a moment. I admire Jesus in lots of ways even though Iâm not a Christian. One of the things all the great New Testament scholars emphasize is that it was unprecedented â Jesusâs practice of keeping an open table. He would sit down with publicans, tax collectors, prostitutes, different clans and castes and he scandalized religious Jews around him by doing that.

See the full article from “Montreal Gazette”

Sex worker slaying leads to manslaughter plea
Updated: Mon Feb. 20 2012 6:27:24 PM ctvmontreal.ca
MONTREAL A Mexican farm worker who stabbed a sex worker to death over a $20 dollar extra fee plead guilty Monday to manslaughter charges in Montreal.
Manuel Victor Martinez-Moralez, 35, came to Montreal as a migrant worker in 2010. He spent much of his wages on prostitutes but had a special enthusiasm for Marilyn Dupuis, 21.
Martinez-Morales hired Dupuis for sexual services on February 19, 2011 but when the two disagreed on whether he should pay her the extra $20, she left, only to return with her driver at 11:15 p.m.
…
Pierre-Louis was eventually questioned as to whether he had been dealing drugs or working as a pimp but was not charged with any offense.

See the full article from “CTV.ca”

Alas, first dibs on the MN are held by its proprietors, the supposedly prestigious National Theatre School, which uses it for in-house productions. Last week saw the end of a run of Three Sixty, an edifying evening in which young actors talk dirty and simulate sex – all, of course, in accordance with the school’s lofty goal of giving its students “a strong base in traditional techniques, skills and methods of learning that will serve them throughout their lives in and outside the theatre.”
Now, it occurs to me that immediately outside the theatre and a few steps to the north there is a performing venue ideally suited to the NTS and its objectives: the Café Cleopatra. Why not move the budding pimps and porn stars up there, where they will have an experienced and discerning crowd to perform in front of ? This would open up the Monument National for opera students, many of whom actually have talent. Just a thought.

See the full article from “Montreal Gazette”

When referee Marlon B. Wright counted out the senseless Gonzales, Stevenson leapt up and down in the ring while the crowd of 2,809 roared in the end of the Bell Centre cordoned off for the fight.
Gonzales was taken to hospital for tests afterward and was not available for comment.
”I threw the punch, bang, and that’s it,” said Stevenson.
The quick KO came after a week of verbal sparring between the two lefthanders. Gonzales supports a women’s shelter in Phoenix, and he brought up Stevenson’s criminal record, which includes 18 months in jail starting in 1998 for his activities with a Montreal street gang.
Stevenson was convicted of being a pimp, assault and making threats, but the father of two daughters has had no arrests since his release and says he has changed his life.

See the full article from “Globe and Mail”

Super middleweight contender Adonis Stevenson (16-1 13KO) was brimming with confidence as he stepped of the scales Friday in advance of his IBF elimination bout match-up with Jesus Gonzales (27-1 14KO) at the Bell Centre in Montreal Saturday night. “Confident? I’m confident I’m going to beat this guy. He’s going at 168; he’s never knocked nobody,” Stevenson told Fightnews. “I knocked Dhafir Smith, and he went the distance with Dhafir Smith. You’ve seen him, he’s fat! That’s not the way to do it at 168, I’m going to stop him. My trainer knows him very very well and you’ll have to watch tomorrow, I’m going to put him down, clean.”
Stevenson seemed unfazed by the shouting match between the two that followed up the weigh-in. “Gonzales tried to play a mind game and he said I raped a girl. I told you, I’ll put a lawyer on that and we’ll have to go to court on that. You can’t talk like that.”
Gonzales has made issue of Stevenson’s past during the week that include an 18 month stint in prison for what the fighter described as “pimping” but says was a long time ago.

See the full article from “fightnews.com”

Bold statements coming from someone who doesn’t know the exact facts of Stevenson’s past.
Not that I know said facts myself…
Which is why it’s a slippery slope to make statements like those which were made by Gonzales. Granted, it could be a way of getting inside the head of Stevenson which, for the moment, it appears he may have done. To the credit of Gonzales, he himself does charity work with Natalie’s House, a not-for-profit women’s support group that shelters and aids sexually-abused women. On Saturday, his ring trunks will display the group’s logo. Again, these could be more mind games…especially when Gonzales added “it gets in his head, I know his past.”
It must be noted that Stevenson’s November 1998 arrest was for pimping and assault. Adonis Stevenson was never accused of rape, or sexual assault of any kind.

See the full article from “BoxingInsider.com (blog)”

… I paid my dues to society,” Stevenson, of Longueuil, Que., said during a Wednesday morning news conference, clearly uncomfortable discussing his past, but willing to answer every single, last question. “It has been 14 years. That’s a long time. I’ve never had a criminal record since.
“I learned a lot while I was in jail,” he added. “If the wrong people are around you . . . I was very young. I’m older now. I see the life.”
The details of Stevenson’s transgressions remain murky, numerous accounts of what might have transpired continue floating around in social media. His promoter, Yvon Michel, is quick to point out Stevenson never was found guilty of rape, sexual assault or aggravated assault. He was, according to Michel, part of a gang that operated an escort service, Stevenson a “small player” who merely was followed orders.

See the full article from “Canada.com”

… I paid my dues to society,â Stevenson, of Longueuil, Que., said during a Wednesday morning news conference, clearly uncomfortable discussing his past, but willing to answer every single, last question. âœIt has been 14 years. Thatâs a long time. Iâve never had a criminal record since.
âœI learned a lot while I was in jail,â he added. âœIf the wrong people are around you . . . I was very young. Iâm older now. I see the life.â
The details of Stevensonâs transgressions remain murky, numerous accounts of what might have transpired continue floating around in social media. His promoter, Yvon Michel, is quick to point out Stevenson never was found guilty of rape, sexual assault or aggravated assault. He was, according to Michel, part of a gang that operated an escort service, Stevenson a âœsmall playerâ who merely was followed orders.

See the full article from “Victoria Times Colonist”

… I paid my dues to society,â Stevenson said during a Wednesday morning news conference, clearly uncomfortable discussing his past, but willing to answer every single, last question. âœIt has been 14 years. Thatâs a long time. Iâve never had a criminal record since.
âœI learned a lot while I was in jail,â he added. âœIf the wrong people are around you … I was very young. Iâm older now. I see the life.â
The details of Stevensonâs transgressions remain murky, numerous accounts of what might have transpired continue floating around in the social media. His promoter, Yvon Michel, is quick to point out Stevenson never was found guilty of rape, sexual assault or aggravated assault. He was, according to Michel, part of a gang that operated an escort service, Stevenson a âœsmall playerâ who merely was following orders.

See the full article from “Montreal Gazette”

MONTREAL – The exploding array of sexual services in Quebec massage parlours is transforming the sex trade, and traditional masseuses say they are being squeezed out by escorts offering “extras.”
QMI Agency has learned that more than half of listed erotic massage parlours offer the same services as escort agencies.
One employee, who gave his name as Dave, says competition between salons is fierce and has led owners to push staffers towards prostitution.
“I can confirm to you that (women) are offering full services in the salons, and it’s often at the urging of the bosses,” said Dave.
“It’s not difficult to understand — the competition is so strong between the salons that girls must do more to keep their customers.”
He said the only difference between escort agencies and the debauched massage parlours is that intercourse and oral sex are extra at the parlours.

See the full article from “Calgary Sun”